Untouchable
by raziella
Summary: The B.O. was taken down but Snake remained at large, leaving a distraught Shin'ichi feeling guilty. Yet he takes it upon himself to make sure the thief is alright, even if it means tricking the police and spying on a magician. But what will he do when the master of disguise catches him in the act? M because of a little something in the end.
1. Shame

Chapter 1: Shame

The picture of his white persona against the dark blue night caused a painful stirring in his chest. The brim of his hat was sunk so low it covered his eyes. Only the monocle creating a reflection of the moonlight, glinting from the mist of darkness that was his face, hinted of their existence. He was sure the thief was watching him just as intently. Why else would he stand so still, just waiting for him?

The entire KID force lay incapacitated by the grounds of the building, covered in green slime, glitter and pink feathers per usual. The intensity and ferocity of Kid's heists had gone from extraordinary to immense within the span of a year. A year that had had Shin'ichi back, returned and intent on catching the thief.

Shin'ichi had come back under cheers and fireworks. Not by his own accord, of course. Shiho had finally completed an antidote some month prior to the actual using of it. FBI had put their forces together and 'Conan' had been welcomed along the ranks as a dear friend with the record he had with them. The actual take-down had been open for the world to see, all according to careful planning. They could not hide while under the spotlight. So Shin'ichi who had to work as the face in the media had become even more famous.

As his name appeared in the papers every day, his life was spent running from the reporters and changing appearance. Because not every member was taken in. He knew this very well, for he had connected the dots with the mysterious shootings at the KID heists, the shady figures spying on the thief, and the too incredible stunts the phantom had to pull off to lead the police and commoners away from dangerous situations that they had somehow missed altogether. Shin'ichi had seen it all, and he knew he had acted too hastily as apparently branches of the Black Organization was still moving about.

He stared into what he thought was Kid's eyes, tried to ask him the unaskable. Tried to convey the message of regret he was feeling.

Yes, an entire year had passed since he got back. An entire year when he could act himself, command the police, direct the FBI and work on his own – and he still had not managed to catch the snake.

He felt shameful.

And worry. The thief was obviously pushing himself. Though a true enjoyment to watch as part of the audience, his heists were anything but carefully laden traps to lure out the murderers of his father. Shin'ichi knew this. He also knew about Pandora. About his double-life. About Kuroba Kaito. About the strain living and lying to your best friend. He knew this because he had watched the thief, the magician, the teenager.

Shin'ichi no longer cared about catching the thief. Why would he? He was like the twin he never had, a brother sharing his pain, a soul partner. He was also a smile in a world so dark it was touchable. Shin'ichi needed that smile, the light that radiated from the boy under the top-hat. Needed the challenge to his mind that did not end with death, betrayal and regret. Needed this time on the rooftop with a fellow fighter for justice.

Does it sound ironic that he would think of an internationally wanted thief as a fighter for justice? Well, Shin'ichi could see past the exterior. Though a sure show-man to the core, Kid did not enjoy his heists, not because of the stealing anyway. He brought laughter and smiles into people's life while secretly searching to destroy the box of doubt and fear into the world, the box that was Pandora, the jewel.

No, Shin'ichi was not going to catch the thief. He was going to aid him. He attended every heist like a dutiful detective, hunted the thief like a police dog, and commanded the task force like a professional, surely as ever. But every now and again, he gave a slightly misguiding signal, gave a small clue for the thief to retreat, or left the heist a little too early to follow a different trail.

Obviously the thief had noticed. How could he not? Shin'ichi had not made a single whole-hearted attempt to catch the thief. Media would disagree, but the thief knew differently.

'A cool night, would you not agree, Meitantei?'

The smooth voice of the phantom that had occupied his mind for so long startled the detective out of his musings. He smirked.

'Not so much after those thirty-seven staircases up and running.'

'I would have never thought the great detective would admit to feeling hot', mused Kid and Shin'ichi took note of the flashing of his teeth when the magician grinned provocatively.

'Never one to hide the truth.'

'Spoken like a true Meitantei!'

Shin'ichi felt himself flush, irritated. 'Spoken, maybe…'

'Not acting the part?' asked the thief, and Shin'ichi heard the surprise, though surely intended.

'You know I'm not.' _I failed you._

Silence ringed in the air, only broken by the sirens echoing down on the streets, the crowd still going wildly going by the cheers. Shin'ichi tried again to catch the eyes of Kid, but he was expertly pulling his entire figure into shadow with the backlight of the moon.

'One can only ever do so much.' _I don't blame you._

'And it wouldn't be enough!'

He knew he let his emotions play freely across his features, but he could no longer hold the anxiety, the regret, the longing he felt back. He took a step forward. The thief shifted, just slightly. But it was enough as Shin'ichi could finally see the features of the magician.

He was _beautiful_.

Shin'ichi sucked in a breath. Kaito was staring back at him, eyes wide, worried. Shin'ichi took realised the thief stood stiff as a board, even in that relaxed pose he kept up all through his heists, the pose he would only drop when he got home, closed his bedroom room and sunk down on the bed with an exhausted sigh.

He took another step and the thief bit his bottom lip. Shin'ichi's eyes were on it in a millisecond. He swallowed, blinked and tore his gaze away from the magician altogether. They were only two meters apart. Kid could not hide his face anymore should he want to, should he remember he was supposed to keep anonymous, hidden, a shadow. No, he was all for Shin'ichi to see and yet he focused his eyes on the stone railing surrounding the rooftop.

He was shocked when something white flashed in the corner of his eye, and he looked up immediately but Kid looked the same. On closer inspection, he noticed, not completely the same. His right hand was clenched hard, arm pressed to his side. Had he moved then?

'I suppose not.'

Cold spread in his chest when the distanced voice of the thief reached his ears. Of course he would blame him. He could have ended the suffering that came with a double-life for Kid, but he had not. He had failed, and he was being blamed for it. Somehow it was more painful to hear it so clearly from him, than to just know.

'The night is getting late', the thief said, glancing behind him, down on the crowds, then up at the moon, and lastly back to Shin'ichi.

His heart constricted painfully as it became clear the magician would leave him. They had barely spoken. Today had been one of those forlorn days where guilt had raided his body and he became unable to think past it. All because there had been another sighting today, and Kid had been aimed at, just second from being fired at. Those times had him reliving his encounters with Gin, Vermouth and all the rest of the Black Organization, only ten times worse.

Because this was Kaito.

He had no idea when it happened, this progression from feeling a sense of kinship with the double-agent, to full-blown protectiveness that came with getting to know him.

'I'll expect to see you on my next heist.'

And just like that his heart felt feather light.

_I want you here._

'Maybe you shouldn't so openly invite this great detective.'

The thief turned, maybe surprised at his playful response.

'Nonsense, this isn't half as fun without my favourite critic. Shame on the day should you fail to crack every last one of my traps!'

Shin'ichi laughed, relieved the mood had turned. 'May your lying tongue turn black for all to see, you thief!'

'I'm hurt!' exclaimed the lying thief and grasped the clothing over his heart, feigning heart-break and fell over the railing.

Shin'ichi rushed forth to see him fall; going from motionless to graceful like a swan before the white wings of the majestic bird folded out and carried the thief away.

'I'll expect to see you much earlier than that, though, Kaito…' whispered the detective and turned to leave.


	2. Jealousy

Chapter 2 Jealousy

The alarm clock set by the teenage boy the previous night rang out its shrilling tones, waking the reluctant sleepyhead in the bedroom. He rolled out of bed, dressed in a messy, slow, often wrong-doing manner, stumbled down the stairs, downed three plates of pancakes and turned into the bouncing energy field that the world knew him to be.

Shin'ichi, sitting at a hidden location some paces from the house, sniggered. He quite enjoyed seeing the thief transform from the slow morning person he knew himself to be, to the being that could charm his way out of jail.

So it might just be a little creepy to an outsider learning that the respectable detective that was Kudô Shin'ichi actually spent much of his (not so much free) time _spying_ on a teenager. And sure it would make more sense if you heard the noble reason that it was for his own protection that said detective was doing these deeds. However, as Shin'ichi sat with his binoculars pressed to his face, grinning wildly at the guy missing his mouth with the fork as he groggily read the newspaper, said reason had little to do with it. Not that he would ever admit that.

As the thief made his way out of the house, met up with his childhood friend, Nakamori Aoko, the smile wilted and died. He may be oblivious to his own love life, Ran's feelings as much as his own, but he could clearly recognise a girl in love when it was not with him.

Aoko clung to his arm, whacked him over the head with her bag, said she was sorry and started chatting animatedly, all within the span of three minutes. They were also walking really close to each other. The only comfort he got was the non-existent affection that the thief seemed to show the girl.

Just as he thought this, said thief started laughing so hard he almost fell over. The girl pouted and the Kaito grabbed her arm, hauling himself over her and started tickling her, all the while still laughing.

Shin'ichi gritted his teeth.

Then he forced his jaw to unclench, surprised and not just a little confused at his own reaction. He was there to observe the thief so he was not attacked. He was there to learn the everyday movement of the thief so he would recognise a broken pattern, and be able to find him quickly if he ever needed to. Besides, he knew childhood friends were affectionate. Ran was too, at times.

As the day went by his irritation and confusion grew. Every time Aoko talked to him, smiled at him, touched him, Shin'ichi had to look away. This only frustrated him more, because it confused him. He had seen them interact before, and it was only just recently that it had started to bug him.

One time it went so far he considered leaving. Okay so he had been considering it for a while, but when he first moved, the thief's eyes snapped to where he was. Petrified Shin'ichi stayed perfectly still, staring back, not certain if he had been caught or not.

For a full minute nobody moved. Shin'ichi, hanging from the tree that he was, began sweating. His arms cramped, his muscles spasm from the fear of detection. He had no idea what he would say to the thief if he actually confronted him. Even less if it happened while he was caught red-handed. He did not want to reveal he knew his identity; who knew what he would do if he knew?

So they stayed like that until Kato's attention was forcefully turned away from him by a mop falling heavily onto his head. Shin'ichi actually winced even when the thief did not. He just turned with a bright smile, stuck his tongue out and jumped out of the way from another attack.

The rest of the day went by without so much as a glitch. The detective did not leave, the thief did not look.

When the bell rang in the afternoon indicating the end of school, Shin'ichi watched in anticipation as Kaito pulled his trademark 'happy-school-is-out' prank. He did not disappoint. Toilet paper found itself floating down from the ceiling in an almost artistic way, until it decided to come to life and wrap itself tightly around each student trying to leave the room, along with everybody else. The magician soon found himself surrounded by a large group of scary mummies doing what they could to inflict as much harm as possible to the creative genius. Which really was not much. They were much too slow for the phantom thief.

Shin'ichi laughed quietly before he slipped down from the tree to sneak out from the school grounds where he would meet up with the thief as he made his way home.

Minutes later when he saw no trace of the teenager in the masses of students making their way out from the school, he began to worry. He knew Kaito was not part of a club, it was not mandatory at Ekoda High, and the criminal had enough on his plate without the extra curriculum.

He had seen Aoko, Akako and even Saguru leave the school, and Kaito really was not the type to stay and chat with a teacher willingly. Perhaps he was called? But he had acted quite decent today, certainly no worse than other days. Even the toilet paper had coiled into a large ball and thrown itself into the trash.

As he made himself visible in the shadows of the school garden, intention set of moving back into the school to find the thief for the improbable case something had happened, the world spun. A hand was on his shoulder, a body pressed against his chest, a forehead cracking his skull, an elbow digging into his collarbone and a breath hot against his cheek.

'What do you want?' asked the thief with a hard voice.

'Mffph… k-wha… Sorry?' Shin'ichi finally managed, somewhat forced.

A hint of a deep purple breaking the azure blue eyes that were staring, scratch that, glaring at him. Eyes that suddenly glinted with recognition, filled with confusion and then suspicion.

'It's not what you think!' he hurried to say before the suspicion turned back into hatred.

That look pained him.

'I have no idea what you are talking about. What are you doing spying on me? Aren't you that famous detective, Kudô Shin'ichi?' the teenager asked, backed away from their strained position, and smiled, curious, relaxed if a bit embarrassed.

He had to hand it to him, his Poker Face was impenetrable.

'So I guess you did see me then, that time before lunch? Ha-ha, I should have guessed you couldn't hide yourself from a professional of disguise', said Shin'ichi ignoring the blatant denial.

He had been caught and he was not going to accept Kato's gracious gift in the form of feigned innocence. Not when it could lead to, or already have become, a great misunderstanding. The teenager was looking at him with cold eyes behind the bright smile. Oh boy, this was most definitely a misunderstanding.

'I'm sorry. I suppose I shouldn't have. I'm sure you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. But I mean I really screwed up that time, and I felt I needed to check up on you. I mean spy, though not really spy, more like monitor. No! Not monitor, watch over. Yeah, that works. I mean, what if something happened. I wanted to be able to help. And at the hei-'

His babbling was suddenly interrupted by a hand covering his lips. He gasped, eyes almost bulging out and he swallowed. Kaito was looking at him, not with suspicion anymore, maybe wariness for the almost-slip, but it soon smoothed over to be replaced with mirth.

'You were worried about me, Meitantei?'

Relief flooded Shin'ichi's system and he smiled, pink tinting his cheeks and he suddenly felt unable to look at the handsome guy.

Then worry filled him. He had just revealed he knew his identity. Panic welled up inside his chest, mulling over the happiness of being there with him. Just as he felt a cold sweat break out across his forehead, two slender fingertips made contact with his chin to guide his face back to meet that of one magician thief.

'I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be happy to know a famous detective found out who I am.'

His voice was smooth, a catalyst for a thousand emotions to rush through him. Electricity ran down his spine when those purple-blue eyes locked gaze with him. The two small spots where his chin made contact with two ungloved fingertips were on fire. The hot breeze from his breath that crashed against his face had his skin erupting in flames.

The realisation crashed down on him like a meteor on the unsuspecting dinosaurs. His wildly beating heart made a leap of joy while his brain came to a shocking complete standstill. His jaw slacked, tears formed in his eyes as his eyelids refused to drop in a blink.

'I-I think I l-'

Thankfully, he later thought, he never got to finish that sentence. Kato's phone made a startling shrilling sound that had them both jump in shock. By the time the detective realised it was a phone and not a rock concert deciding to land on top of them unexpectedly, Kaito had already picked up.

Shin'ichi did not stay long enough to hear who it was.


	3. Approach

Chapter 3 Approach

He stopped running when he was halfway home. Panting, he leaned against a brick wall. His sides hurt; he had not been working out since he quit soccer, other than the occasional hunting-down of a criminal who was stupid enough to attempt an escape.

'Kuzo!' he screamed and hit the wall with a fisted hand.

How could he be so stupid?!

Stupid enough to spy on the phantom thief who sensed a presence better than himself. Stupid enough to get caught. Stupid enough to confront him about what he knew. Stupid enough to fall in lo-

Again he stopped right there.

He could not possibly… right? Not a thief? Not a _guy_. Not someone who could pass off as himself. Was it not typical? The height of narcissism? Ran always did say he was too full of himself, just works to prove how well she knew him. Better than he did, anyhow. It took him a full year back in his own hormone-driven body, hunting the man down, following his every step, a full-blown exposure, for him to realise he…

He turned around and sunk to the ground. He leaned his head back against the wall, feelings its rough surface scratch his scalp. And he sat like that, unmoving, just waiting for some of the shock to pass. Let the embarrassment fade. Listen to his heart slow from its high. Maybe he would turn into stone, melt into the brick wall behind him if he waited long enough. He smiled, painfully. Great, he was losing his genius.

'What are you sitting there smirking for?' asked a voice he recognised all too well.

He did not move, did not dare, thought maybe, just maybe he was starting to hallucinate. He imagined that voice, those words, that tone. No such luck.

'Gone deaf apart from paralysed?' said the same voice, provocatively.

'Just taking a moment to consider the fallacies of life.'

'Oh? Having many of them?' said Kaito, now from beside him, much closer, as he had slipped down beside him.

'I don't know. Maybe. I just realised that everything my character is about, everything I knew about myself is wrong, in a twisted, ironic sort of way. It's hard to continue fighting from there.'

He could feel the other's eyes on him, could feel himself being scrutinised, wondered if he had understood, if he was hurt.

'I don't think it changes who you are, tantei. You still stand for truth and justice even if your heart decided to go doolally on you. I personally had the same realisation not long ago, and though perhaps easier for me, known as the trend-breaking-'

He ignored the incredulous laugh, the half-choked cover of it, and continued as if nothing.

'-to take the leap of faith and follow my heart. Yet if the others were aware of the more complicated aspects of my life, perhaps they would rather deem me further mentally ill than just shrug it off as another fix idea. You, however, I think understand my hesitation. You, who after all, have you back covered by the law-abiders, I think should take a moment to appreciate the black hole I have decided to walk into. It is unknown territory for me just as much as it is for you. Perhaps even more so as I never hooked up with Aoko in that deadly-serious on-the-way-to-greatness relationship you had going on with Mouri-chan.'

At this point, though Shin'ichi's head felt like it was about to explode, he felt he had to stop the thief.

'You don't think I appreciate the gravity of the situation? I release there is much at stake for you, especially you being who you are at certain nights, but that only further assists to confuse me as to why I should even consider the idea. I know I have a reputation that precedes me, I know I have a duty to society that many would consider heavy or unusual for someone my age. I take that in stride, accept it and push forward for I know it's the right thing to do and I enjoy just as much the work as the goal I'm working towards.

'But that doesn't mean one glitch can change all that. One step wrong will have the world against me; it doesn't matter if it is a matter at heart. You know how much a hero I scrutinised by the people. You are in the papers as often as you make an appearance, if not more often. You would sit in the exact same boat. The world would condemn-'

'Don't you think I know that?' interrupted the thief but Shin'ichi moved on.

'-us. Not to mention everyone that knows us. I'm sure someone would sooner or later figure it out, and when that reaches our loved ones… I can only imagine the pain of my father. My mother might accept it, but not Ran… who I did not have a deadly-serious-going-eternal kind of thing with, for you information.'

'I had no idea you were that afraid of everybody's opinion. Just proves to say you are vain.'

Shin'ichi snorted, indignantly.

'See? I'm vain. I'm selfish, self-absorbed, and probably mentally ill by the looks of it', he said and glanced at the wall behind them earning him a curious look. 'I'm introverted, boring, a detective-nerd and always stuck up in a case somewhere. I'm never on time because someone decided to drop dead when I happened to pass by and I enjoy staying and solving the mystery.'

'So you're not perfect', stated the magician and leaned his head against his shoulder. 'I never asked for as much. I'm good to go with genius, kind, moral, thorough, geekishly cute, animated, gorgeous, not to mention sexy as hell.'

Kaito chuckled and Shin'ichi let out another snort.

'Yeah, that about sums it up', he answered sarcastically and was just about to enter another bout of self-degrading characteristics when the thief caught him by surprised. He grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him flush to his body.

Shin'ichi found himself encased in two strong arms, face pressed against the crook of Kato's neck. His smell had him delirious even before two lips reached down to meet his own.

All his arguments died. Actually, all thoughts he had whatsoever died. A swivel of impressions forced their way in. His smell was like roses, clean laundry, fur from a small pet (did he keep more pets than his doves then?), and chocolate mixed with a salty body odour that made up Kaito.

The lips pressed against his were firm, sending a message. They were still, asking for permission. They were wet, explaining the attraction. And they were somehow breaking down all the walls that Shin'ichi ever built around his heart after the painful realisation he did not love Ran. They were so filled with heat, sincerity, serenity. It filled his heart with a calm he had not felt in many years.

Warmth seeped into his heart – he finally breathed out when he felt the natural body heat emitting from the hand that grasped his reassuringly.

He was safe.


	4. Epilogue: Inseparable

Epilogue: Inseparable

His friends had thought him strangely paranoid ever since he got back from 'that case he had been working on for so long'. This did no change with Kaito. It is possible he became even more sensitive after the strange teenage guy suddenly stepped into their lives claiming to be the otaku-detective's boyfriend. It took a while before his friends understood the whole implication of boyfriend, and quite a few awkward situations.

You would often catch them together. When they were not, which really should be more often than what it would appear seeing as they live in different city parts, attend different schools and have different hobbies, you could catch one of them abruptly turning around looking into space with a worried frown. Quickly they would find a lame excuse and be gone before you gathered air to give a response.

The creepy part was the accuracy of those occasions. Though they never said anything, they would be out of sight for a while after those scenes. Sometimes without returning home for a couple of days, sometimes just hiding inside the Kudô mansion. Ran once sneaked a peak at one of those occasions and saw how they sat in the big sofa in the living room. Kaito resting in Shin'ichi's lap, arms tightly holding on to each other. They never spoke about it.

By the time everyone had gotten used to Kato's presence, both teenagers suddenly disappeared. They were gone for a full month. No one heard from them. The Kudôs did not answer their phone, Kuroba-san was unattainable, Agasa-hakase and Haibara Ai had conveniently gone on a vacation without reception. The Mouri household were away on a case far up north. Even the Shounen Tanteidan had been invited on an out-of-town visit to one of the old samurai towns, though no one could say which one. Heiji and Kazuha were gone on a school trip, and Sonoko was visiting her boyfriend.

After that full month of radio silence from all of Shin'ichi's friends and family, the biggest take-down of a criminal syndicate since the Black Organisation's downfall was again done by the Detective of the East. It was not made on such a grand scale, nor were any details published in the papers, but if you asked anyone who knew Shin'ichi or Kaito on a personal level, they would all say the same:

'Something changed when they came back, you know. It was if they had seen the light. As a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. They suddenly became so much more open. I have never seen such love before. It's like a miracle.'

Soon after that, Kaito entered the world stage of magicians. He entered university part-time and studied Theatre for one of the best teachers. He moved into the Kudô mansion, built a secret room and hung up his KID cape with every intention of continuing his search for Pandora. Who ever said just because one evil syndicate was gone, another would not come and take its place?

Evil existed in the world still, and it was because of this that the light of the world had to coexist with the truth-seeking detective.

Shin'ichi opened up his own detective agency, declining the offers he got from every police department in central Japan. He entered university along with Kaito, having taken liking for theatre sometime during the time he had to change disguise every so often as part of the tailing and down-taking of the Snake association, he still chose English Literature.

As a hobby he took up jewel investigation with every intention of aiding Kaito in his search for Pandora.

As for the couple, they lived. Which really was something quite precious to them who had spent so long running from their fate. They knew and appreciated the value of life, and filled it with love, laughter and joy.

Kaito remained the prankster he was. Should you ever find a bored Kaito, this is when you should worry. Consider yourself warned.

* * *

Omake: Ran's discovery

Ran was worried. She had not heard from the boys in over a week. As far as she knew neither had showed up for class, with Shin'ichi she was sure of this. So a driven girl as she was, she walked up the lane to the Kudô mansion with determined steps. That turned less and less determined as she neared the door and became uncertain. What if they had a reason? What if they needed to be alone? What if they were not even there?

Worry about them drove her forward. Tentatively she knocked on the front door, with no response. She knocked again, just a little harder. Then she heard a noise.

A moan.

A long drawn out moan full of pleasure and longing. She froze. For several moments she could not bring herself to move. Not until a yelp brought her out of her musings and she jumped, thought she was detected. Then when nothing more happened she looked around. No one had noticed her, the sound had come from inside.

Almost scared of what she would find she moved around the vicinity, careful to move below the window frames to remain unseen. In her hurry she hit her foot into the low wall surrounding the flowerbeds. She cursed softly.

As the noise increased she dared a peak through the window. And went beet red. She barely had time to cast a glance before she ducked under the window again, but one second was plenty for the image to become etched into her memory for all future to come.

Sprawled right across the living room on the soft carpet she would never again step on, the two boys, men she forcibly had to reconsider, were in the altogether. Shinichi leaned over the other guy, caging him between his arms while kissing the other down his collarbone with wild intent. Kaito had his legs wrapped around his boyfriend, pressing their groins together in the most intimate way.

'Gaaah, Kai…to!' moaned Shin'ichi and Ran ran.

* * *

Sorry, I couldn't help myself with the omake (^.^;) Reviews are appreciated!


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